13 May 2010
Andrew Mitchell has been appointed Secretary of State for the Department for International Development (DFID), the Prime Minister announced yesterday.
The Secretary of State said:
“I’m delighted to be appointed to spearhead the new Government’s campaign to tackle global poverty.
“Tackling deprivation around the world is a moral imperative and firmly in Britain’s national interest. I’m proud of the commitments that our new Government has made on international development. Our bargain with taxpayers is this: in return for contributing your hard-earned money to helping the world’s poorest people, it is our duty to spend every penny of aid effectively. My top priority will be to secure maximum value for money in aid through greater transparency, rigorous independent evaluation and an unremitting focus on results.
“Promoting wealth creation and development around the world is about so much more than just giving aid. We will harness the full range of British government policies – including trade, conflict resolution and environmental protection – to contribute to our progressive vision of a more prosperous, sustainable and secure world.
“We must make 2010 the year when we get the Millennium Development Goals back on-track and make real progress towards what we all want to see: a world free from poverty. I look forward to getting to work to help make that happen.”
As Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2005 to 2010, Andrew Mitchell led his Party’s campaign to tackle global poverty.
Andrew Mitchell has seen first-hand the impact that deprivation, conflict and oppression have on the lives of ordinary people around the world. Having served as a UN peacekeeper in Cyprus in the 1970s, he went on to work and travel extensively in Africa and Asia, experiences that have stayed with him throughout his time as an MP. For the last three years Andrew Mitchell has organised Project Umubano, a social action project where approximately 100 volunteers work on a variety of development projects in Rwanda.
Andrew Mitchell was the Member of Parliament for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. During this period he held office as a Government Whip and as Minister for Social Security. He served as a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1992 to 1993. Andrew Mitchell has represented Sutton Coldfield in Parliament since 2001.
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